The Santa Clause
|writer= |release=November 11, 1994 |rating=PG |runtime=1 hour, 37 minutes |available=VHS Laserdisc DVD Blu-ray Apple TV Google Play Amazon Video Disney+}} is a 1994 Christmas comedy movie starring Tim Allen, presented by Walt Disney Pictures and , and produced by . It was notably the first movie collaboration between Allen and director , who had previously worked together on the TV series . The movie was followed by two sequels, The Santa Clause 2 in 2002 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause in 2006. Synopsis Scott Calvin is a divorced father and advertising executive with a young son, Charlie. On Christmas Eve, Charlie comes over to spend the night with him before going back to his mother and stepfather's house for Christmas Day. That night, they are awakened by a clatter on the roof. Going outside to investigate, Scott sees someone on there. He yells at the trespasser, which causes him to lose his balance and fall off. He appears to be Santa Claus. He magically disappears, but his suit remains. They find a business card in a pocket stating that if something should happen to him, someone should put on the suit, and the reindeer will know what to do. They find his sleigh and eight reindeer perched on the roof. Scott puts the suit on to please Charlie, and begins delivering toys from house to house, with the chimneys magically adjusting to allow Scott in to make the deliveries, no matter what size they are. Their final stop is the North Pole. Bernard the Head Elf shows him a tiny inscription on the card which says that, upon the death of the previous occupant, whoever wears the suit assumes the identity of Santa Claus and all the responsibilities and duties that go with it. This is the "Santa Clause," as stated by him: "You put on the suit, you're the big guy." He also gives Charlie a snow globe. Then, Bernard tells him that he only has eleven months, until Thanksgiving, to get his affairs in order before becoming Santa Claus full time, which he tries to refuse. He and Charlie spend the night at the factory. The next morning, they awaken back at his house, where the only indication of their previous night's adventure is his new silk pajamas with the initials "SC" monogrammed on them. He dismisses it all as a dream. Soon, however, Scott starts gaining weight and his boss, Mr. Whittle, likens him to the Pillsbury Dough Boy and suggests to Scott that he should go see a doctor. He develops a ravenous taste for Christmas treats, like cookies and hot cocoa. He grows a long white beard, and shaving it off has no effect, as it regrows instantly. His hair also whitens, despite all attempts to dye it; it simply changes back. He somehow knows who has been "naughty" and "nice". Children (who somehow know he is Santa despite him not dressing the same) approach him with gift requests. His rapid transformation worries his ex-wife, Laura, and her new husband, psychiatrist Dr. Neil Miller, who try to terminate his visitation rights to Charlie. They question his mental stability, and believe that his changes are attempts at getting his son to like him. Eventually, Scott's visitation rights to Charlie are suspended by court order. Disheartened, he begins to lose some of his certainty about his job as Santa. While visiting Charlie on Thanksgiving, whose insistence that he is Santa reawakens his magic, despite Neil and Laura trying to convince Charlie otherwise, he, with Bernard's help, whisks him away to the North Pole. Laura and Neil, who think he has kidnapped Charlie against his will, call the police, who make a massive investigation to find Charlie and, if needed, arrest Scott as well. Meanwhile, at the North Pole, Charlie helps Scott and the elves perfect a new sleigh and communication devices. He calls occasionally, but this only reinforces Laura and Neil's belief that he is being held against his will, despite his happy tone of voice when he does call. Eventually, Scott, as Santa Claus, goes on with his Christmas Eve trip, but is arrested while delivering presents to Charlie's house, and is accused of kidnapping him, being taken away to jail despite the pleas of kids to have him released. Lack of contact with him reaches the North Pole after his arrest. A team of rescue elves, the E.L.F.S., dispatched by Bernard, free him from jail by tying up the front desk guard and fly him and Charlie home to Laura and Neil, to whom Scott/Santa gives the presents they always wanted since childhood, but never got: Laura gets a , and Neil gets an "Wienie Whistle". (It was because of not getting these that they became convinced Santa didn't exist.) Laura, finally realizing that Scott really is the new Santa, tosses the custody papers into the fireplace and welcomes him to come and see Charlie any time that he wants. Bernard tells Charlie that the snow globe is magical. Anytime he wants his father to visit, all he has to do is shake it. After ten minutes, he does so and Scott comes back, says he was on his way to Cleveland, and takes Charlie with him. Songs The film's score was composed and produced by , and conducted by . Home video releases TheSantaClause VHS.jpg| TheSantaClause Laserdisc.jpg| Noimage.png| TheSantaClause DVD 2000.jpg| The Santa Clause Special Edition VHS.jpg| TheSantaClause DVD 2002.jpg| The Santa Clause Widescreen Special Edition DVD.jpg| TheSantaClause Bluray.jpg| TheSantaClauseBluRay2019.png| Notes *When Charlie is telling his father about Neil's opinion on Santa Clause Scott says that Neil is not a doctor he is a psychiatrist. By definition a psychiatrist is a licensed medical doctor, who has not only earned a medical degree, but has further specialized in the field of psychiatry. However, Scott is clearly someone who does not consider a psychiatrist to be a "real" doctor. *When Scott was at Denny's, he wanted to order eggnog, but when he was at the little girl's house, he said he was lactose-intolerant, which is clearly a lie, because he didn't want to drink the milk that she left for Santa. Edits Phone controversy On the theatrical and the initial home video release, Tim Allen made a sarcastic remark in the movie, which included the line "1-800-SPANK-ME." During the film's release, a woman from near Cleveland, Ohio called the supposedly-fictional number for her curious grandchildren; it turned out to be a phone sex line. However, it wasn't until 1997, when Disney received complaints from parents whose children called the number and racked up huge phone bills, did the studio take action and cut the line for future releases. Disney also said that they would purchase the phone number to disconnect the service. Additional edits *For the DVD, Blu-ray and Digital releases, a brief scene where Laura gives Scott the phone number of Neal's mother (1-800-SPANKME), and Scott says that he "knows that number," has been deleted. **For the later TV airings, the phone number scene has been redubbed from its original number to "1-800-POUND". *Whenever the film airs on the Disney Channel, Scott's line "We're getting the Disney Channel. Merry Christmas," is deleted. *In addition to the phone number scene, additional edits are made in current TV broadcasts: **After Scott extinguished the flames of the turkey, it cuts to him and Charlie getting their seat at Denny's. ***That scene reduced the time and content, in order to not show the shot of the Canadian-Japanese meeting and Scott sees the other fathers who burnt their turkeys in their hands. **The part where Scott says "Where the hell did this come from?" after banging into the ladder was edited. Accolades won the 1995 People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Motion Picture, and was also nominated for two 1995 Saturn Awards for Best Fantasy Film and Best Make-Up (by and ). Michael Convertino's score also won a 1995 BMI Film Music Award. Tim Allen was nominated for the 1995 American Comedy Award for Funniest Lead Actor in a Motion Picture, the 1995 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor, and two 1995 MTV Movie + TV Awards for Best Breakthrough & Comedic Performance. Eric Lloyd was nominated for the 1995 Young Artist Award for Best Supporting Movie Actor. Cast External links * * * * Category:Movies Category:Disney Category:1994 releases Category:Santa Claus filmography Category:Theatrical releases Category:Comedy Movies Category:Santa's Elves filmography Category:Santa's Reindeer filmography Category:Award winners